OMNIBUS AMENDMENT 0002.DOC

5. PROJECT NO.

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR AC- KNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 10-83)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

BY

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(No., street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required) (If applicable)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer) 04/22/2010 24-101A-2606 OASAM Office of Procurement Services U. S. Department of Labor

RM S4307

200 Constitution Ave., NW Washington DC 20210 OASAM Office of Procurement Services U. S. Department of Labor

RM S4307

200 Constitution Ave., NW Washington DC 20210 To all Offerors/Bidders

DOL110RP20850

03-24-2010 X X X

THE PURPOSE OF THIS AMENDMENT IS TO:

EXTEND THE RFP DUE DATE TO MAY 3, 2010 AT 12:00 NOON EASTERN TIME.

UPDATE SECTION B, PRICE/COST SCHEDULE.

POST RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS.

EDIT SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD (SEE CONTINUATION PAGE).

TOVA C. STEIN

CONTRACTING OFFICER

CONTINUATION PAGE I. UPDATED SECTION B, PRICE/COST SCHEDULE: SECTION B -CONTINUATION BLOCK

B.1 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SOLICITATION IS SET-ASIDE FOR 8a FIRMS ONLY.

CONTRACT MINIMUM/MAXIMUM MIN QUANTITY

The minimum quantity for all orders issued against this contract shall not be less than 1880 Hours. The maximum quantity for all orders issued against this contract shall not exceed the ceiling price stated on the face page of the contract. Electronic issuance of orders is authorized. Orders may be issued by any Office of Procurement Services (OPS) Contracting Officer.

MINIMUM QUANTITY

MAXIMUM

AMOUNT

1880 HOURS

tbd At time of Award

The contractor shall provide the services of personnel who meet the qualifications described in section H.1, Personnel Qualifications.

BASE PERIOD: ONSITE

Overtime

Labor Category

Hourly Rate

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total Program Manager

1,880

Project Manager I

Project Manager II

Project Manager III

Computer Systems Analyst I

Computer Systems Analyst II

Computer Systems Analyst III

Computer Systems Analyst Manager

Computer Programmer I

Computer Programmer II

Computer Programmer III

Computer Programmer IV

Computer Programmer Manager

Web Designer

Data Architect

Enterprise Architect

Technical Writer I

Technical Writer II

Technical Writer III

Database Analyst

Help Desk Support Analyst

Administrative Assistant

Production Support Manager

Base Period ONSITE total for all estimated hours

$0.00

BASE PERIOD: OFFSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Base Period OFFSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD ONE: ONSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period One ONSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD ONE: OFFSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period One OFFSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD TWO: ONSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period Two ONSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD TWO: OFFSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period Two OFFSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD THREE: ONSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period Three ONSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD THREE: OFFSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period Three OFFSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD FOUR: ONSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period Four ONSITE total for all estimated hours

OPTION PERIOD FOUR: OFFSITE

# of Hours Subtotal Hourly Rate

# of Hours

Subtotal Total

Option Period Four OFFSITE total for all estimated hours

CONTRACT

GRAND TOTAL ---

(If all options are exercised)

Response to Question 1: No response necessary.

Does the government expect to maintain the current staffing levels for the on-going work effort under the proposed Omnibus contract?

Response to Question 2: The Government will place orders for individual requirements through the issuance of Task Orders. Each Task Order will be negotiated, to include the staffing level, and priced based upon the rates for services contained in Section B.

Section C.1.5: The section states that some work may be conducted “offsite at a vendor furnished facility ….” Is this a reference to an existing third party vendor facility or is the intent that the offeror is to establish such a facility? If the latter, will the selected contractor receive a Task Order for the establishment of this facility and how much time will be allowed to develop such a facility?

Response to Question 3: A third party vendor facility does not exist.

Section F.3: The table in this section identifies “Weekly Project Performance Reports.” These reports are not addressed in Section F.2. Are weekly reports required? If so, please provide guidance on the content of these reports.

Response to Question 4: Refer to section F.2.2.1 Reporting Requirements.

Section F.4: This section identifies the delivery schedule with a contract start date of 06/04/2010. Will the contract phase-in start on this date and be included in the Base Period? What is the Government’s estimate for the length of the phase-in period? Approximately how many Task Orders will the Government issue during the phase-in period? What is the expected staffing level by labor category needed to support the initial Task Orders?

Response to Question 5: Yes, the contract phase-in start date will be included in the base period of the contract. It is unknown how many Task Orders the Government will issue during the phase-in period.

Section H.4: This section states: “If the offeror does not have any OCI issues, it must positively affirm so in writing.” Is this affirmation required as part of the proposal? If so, should it be included as part of Volume IV?

Response to Question 6: Yes.

Section J: This section provides Attachments A through J. However, there is no Attachment C. Have all intended attachments been provided or is Attachment C missing?

Response to Question 7: All intended attachments have been provided.

Section L.d.(i): Are the topics to be discussed under Subfactor 2: Personnel restricted to only the proposed key personnel?

Response to Question 8: No, refer to the instructions provided in section L.d.(i).

Section L.d.(iv): The instructions for Volume IV indicate that offerors are to complete “the solicitation sections indicated below ….” Will the Government clarify that the sections referred to are the SF 33 and Section K – Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors?

Response to Question 9: As stated in section L.d.(iv) offerors are to complete with signatures the SF33, all amendments and all certifications.

Section L.I: Based on the delivery instructions specified in this section, it appears that the preferred delivery method is by Express Mail/Common Carriers. In order to minimize the risk of a late delivery, will the Government consider revising the delivery time to 3:00 PM instead of 12:00 PM? Section L.I: Based on the delivery instructions specified in this section, the proposals are to be delivered on a Monday. The instructions further recommend that express mail delivery should be scheduled one to two days before the due date. Will the Government consider changing the delivery date to Tuesday, April 27? The delay would preclude the lost weekend days that could be used for final proposal preparation.

Response to Question 10: There is no preferred method of delivery. The offeror due date has been extended.

Section C Statement of Work 1.5.1- Place of Performance: 3.1.1.2 - Does the contractor need to incur the cost of the offsite development environment?

Response to Question 11: This is a Labor-Hour ID/IQ contract. As such, the selected Offeror will be responsible for providing only the labor required for Task Order performance.

Section C Statement of Work 1.3.1.2. – What percentage of the work is dependent on BizFlow Workflow?

Response to Question 12: EGrants is the only Application that uses Bizflow.

Ref: RFP H.2 Personnel Qualifications: The current list of Key Personnel does not include the Program Manager. This is very unusual for a contract of this size with multiple tasks, and we were wondering if this was perhaps an administrative oversight. Is the Program Manager a Key Personnel?

Response to Question 13: Yes, refer to page 18, section H.2.1.1.

Ref: B.1 Price/Cost Schedule: The SOW states that work may be performed either on-site at DOL or off-site at vendor’s facility, and that it will be determined for each task order. However, the pricing charts have only a single rate requested. Normally, for this situation, the RFP requires on-site rates and separate off-site rates. Normally, off-site rates are burdened with the additional overhead required to support the facility. Is it the Government’s intent that the contractor supply one rate for both on-site and off-site work, and therefore distribute the overhead of the facility across the on-site rates?

Response to Question 14: Offerors are required to submit both onsite and offsite rates for each labor category.

Ref: Addendum to 52.215-1, Volume II, (4) Past Performance Questionnaire: The POC list is due 4/14/2010. Are the questionnaires due back from our references to DOL Contracts on 4/14/10 also? Can we extend the due date for responses from references to 4/26/10?

Response to Question 15: No Are commitment letters required for each labor category that are deemed key positions, including current employees?

Response to Question 16: No.

Can the government please clarify the Overtime hourly rate and # of hours requirement to be provided in Section B, B.1-Price/Cost Schedule? Are the number of hours specified in “Overtime” section of Schedule B expected to be a result of a potential surge when the task orders are issued?

Response to Question 17: See Amended Section B provided with this Amendment.

The overtime # of hours field for Labor Category #23-Production Support Manager in Section B-Price/Cost Schedule has been left blank for Base period and all Option periods while all other labor categories include overtime hours. Was this intentional?

Response to Question 18: No.

Does this RFP require CMMI Level Certifications? We would like to understand the process needs of DOL to support the contract.

Response to Question 19: CMMI Certification is not required by the Vendor. Best of Class Management Practices such offered by PMI are needed to support the Contract.

Help Desk support – Is this purely Application help desk or would this include Desktop / Network support as well?

Response to Question 20: Application Helpdesk Support Only.

For an RFP of this size, the financial resources of the Offerer is usually an evaluation factor. Will the Offerer’s financial stability be an evaluation criterion?

Response to Question 21: No. Please refer to Section M regarding Evaluation Factors.

Will organizations involved in the Q&A and Testing of ETA applications be permitted to compete for the OMNIBUS contract? Specifically, if there is an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI), can the Testers also compete for the Development portion of the solution?

Response to Question 22: Yes, they can compete.

Are we required to include a full QCP with our proposal? If so, given the limited page count, can the QCP be provided as an appendix and excluded from the page count?

Response to Question 23: No, the QCP shall not be provided as part of the Appendices or be excluded from the page count. Refer to Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), section d, (i) Volume I – Technical, SubFactor 5.

Can experience of subcontractors be included in the Corporate Experience section of the technical approach?

Response to Question 24: Yes, if the subcontractor will be performing 10% or more of the direct labor. Refer to section L, d, (ii) Volume II – Past Performance.

Does each subcontractor need to submit past performance references?

Response to Question 25: Yes, if the subcontractor will be performing 10% or more of the direct labor.

Can the prime user the subcontractor references as part of the three relevant contracts need for the Past Performance section?

Response to Question 26: Yes.

Are the 11 key positions past of a core staff that will be fielded upon commencement of the contract? If not, is there an expected core staff that will be in place at the start of the contract, and if so, what will be their functions?

Response to Question 27: The Government will place orders for individual requirements through the issuance of Task Orders. Each Task Order will be negotiated and priced based upon the rates for services contained in Section B.

Are the tasks listed in section 1.3.1.6 part of the core contract or will they be issued as task orders? If they are task orders, should they be addressed specifically in the technical approach? This would be difficult since there is specificity relating to the tasks and therefore allow a significant advantage to the incumbents who are already doing the work.

Response to Question 28: They will be issued specifically in task orders. The vendor should show an understanding of the technologies such as ColdFusion, Oracle etc in support of the tasks. Understanding of the specific tasks are not required. General knowledge or similar experience of a Grants system, DataMart etc. will be sufficient.

Will the evaluation of the proposals be conducted by individuals who are currently managing existing Protech projects that are described in the RFP or will it be evaluated by individuals that are not part of the existing management?

Response to Question 29: A technical evaluation panel will evaluate the technical volume/offerors.

How many resumes are expected for each labor category? In a previous question, it states that resumes should be staffed to meet the number of hours. Since each labor category has 1880 hours per year, this would mean that there should be one resume per labor category. Is this accurate?

Response to Question 30: No, that is not correct, refer to section L, Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), d, (i) Volume I-Technical.

Should the resumes be “matched” to the particular tasks or associated with the labor categories only?

Response to Question 31: Refer to section L, Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), d, (i) Volume I-Technical.

Can you inform us who the current COTR is at Department of Labor?

Response to Question 32: The COTR will be identified at the time of award.

Section C, 1.3, ETA SDLCM: Could the Government please make this manual available now?

Response to Question 33: Review Attachment J of the subject RFP.

Section C, 1.3, SDLCM Security standards: Could the Government please make these standards available now?

Response to Question 34: They are available now. Refer to Attachment J of the subject RFP.

Section C, 1.2, E-Grants/EBSS: Please explain how these operate today.

Response to Question 35: They operate normally.

Sec. C, 1.3.1.6.1, E-Grants release 2.0: Could the Government please identify the “15 documented enhancements”?

Response to Question 36: We may provide a list of these enhancements at a later date.

Sec. C: What are the defined SLAs for the current E-Grants?

Response to Question 37: Unfortunately, there are no defined service level agreements in place with the 5 agencies we support. We have just provided unlimited support to the best of our ability. It has always been sufficient although this is not how the process should work.

Sec. L, QCP: What does the Government intend for the QCP – within the project build, management of each TO, management of the overall contract, or some combination of these?

Response to Question 38: No response necessary.

Sec. L, CDs: How many CDs are to be submitted? For example, does the Government want a CD for each of the four original volumes and for each of the three sanitized versions of Volume I? Sec. L, b., File Packaging: Should each CD be packaged with its hard-copy counterpart or separately as a group?

Response to Question 39: There is no required amount of CDs to be submitted. One CD with all the required information is sufficient. CD packaging is at the discretion of the offeror.

Sec. L, b., File Packaging: Should all volumes be packaged together in a single box or should they be packaged separately in envelopes in the single box? Sec. L, b., File Packaging: Should sanitized versions of Volume I be packaged in a separate envelope(s) from the original version of Volume I?

Response to Question 40: File (shipment) packaging is at the discretion of the offeror.

Section L, c.(i), Volume I Technical, Subfactor 2 Personnel: Does the Government have a preferred format for the personnel matrix?

Response to Question 41: No.

Section L, c.(i), Volume I Technical, Subfactor 2 Personnel: Is it the Government’s intent in the personnel matrix for the offeror to demonstrate/map how our proposed key personnel’s experience matches the tasks of Sec C, 1.3.1.6, or the specific tasks/services of Sec C, 2.1?

Response to Question 42: Refer to Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), d, (i) Volume I-Technical.

Section L, c.(i), Volume I Technical, Subfactor 2 Personnel: Would the Government consider making the personnel matrix a part of the resume presentation and exclude it from the page count?

Response to Question 43: No.

For the past performance questionnaire that our references will be completing…..Is this to be sent directly to you or would you prefer the reference email us the completed questionnaire and then we send it to you?

Response to Question 44: The Past Performance Questionnaire should be submitted directly to the government by the reference source.

Will offers delivered via Courier be accepted?

Response to Question 45: Delivery of proposals/offerors is at the discretion of offerors.

Given the number of companies that are currently doing work related to this solicitation, for the redacted version of the proposal, will it be permissible to say that XXX company currently manages, for example, the Applications Helpdesk, or will this be considered identifiable information?

Response to Question 46: Yes, this would be considered identifiable information. It may not be considered identifiable information to say, for example, XXX has X years experience managing applications helpdesk..

We understand that certain companies take a restrictive action against their employees by asking them to sign a non-compete agreement. Does DOL support this type of action?

Response to Question 47: DOL does not make any decisions regarding (a)ny contracting vendor’s company policies.

Is there a specific cost of living escalation percentage that should be utilized for the option years? Is it acceptable to use our current annual escalation, which is 5%?

Response to Question 48: There is no specific or required cost of living escalation percent that should be utilized for each option year.

On Pg. 12, Section F.2.2.3 Annual Technical Progress Reports: Solicitation states that “reports shall be provided to the CO and COTR by the 10th day after the year ends." However, on pg. 14 of the Solicitation, in the Delivery table, it states that these reports are due "30 days after the end of the Base Year and each of the following Option Years."

Response to Question 49: Both Can the government please clarify the delivery schedule for the Annual Technical Progress Reports?

Response to Question 50: No response necessary.

Pg. 14, Section F.3 Deliveries: Monthly Project Performance Reports and Monthly Helpdesk Reports are required on the 30th day of each month (or Monday if the 30th day falls on a Friday or weekend) Can DOL please clarify the deliverable date? Should this be the 30th day after the end of the month?

Response to Question 51: The delivery date is as stated in the RFP.

Under Subfactor 2: Personnel, it states: “…and also provide a matrix to include the background/experience of the company’s proposed personnel…” Can we consider this matrix a table or illustration?

Response to Question 52: Submitting as a table or illustration is at the Offeror’s discretion.

Item (b) File Packaging: “Proposals submitted in spiral binder notebooks will not be accepted.” Can DOL please clarify if a three (3) ring binder is considered a spiral binder notebook?

Response to Question 53: No, a 3 ring binder is not considered a spiral binder notebook.

Item (c) Page Count: Solicitation states that “Those pages that exceed the page counts for each volume may not be evaluated. If there are more than forty-five lines of text on any page, the sum of the additional lines may be removed from back to front of the particular volume and may be not be evaluated.” Are personnel matrices exempt from the above referenced line count and are tables and illustrations exempt from the above referenced line count?

Response to Question 54: Yes.

Section L, Instructions to Offerors, Volume I, Technical: The solicitation requires 3 redacted or sanitized copies of the technical proposal with the stipulation that “the redacted proposal shall not contain any identifiable information which would allow the technical evaluation team to deduce the offeror’s identity.” In the redacted version of the personnel section, would the following example be considered identifiable information or would it be allowed? Example: Offeror’s staff currently manages ETA’s Data Warehouse.

Response to Question 55: Yes, this would be considered identifiable information.

Section L, Instructions to Offerors, Volume II, Past Performance: Solicitation indicates that “Sub-Contractors performing 10% or more of direct labor must submit past performance of at least three contracts for current relevancy (3 years) based on how well the contractor preformed on projects of a similar dollar value, scope, and complexity in the SOW.” In order for the offeror to determine whether or not the subcontractor will have 10% of direct labor, should the offeror calculate this percentage based on the proposed dollar value or number of positions stipulated in Section B?

Response to Question 56: Yes.

Section L, Instructions to Offerors, Business/Price: Are subcontractors required to complete the following?

a. Section B.1 Price/Cost Schedule

b. Standard Form (SF) 33 & Amendments

c. Section K – Representations & Certifications Response to Question 57:

a. No.

b. No.

c. No.

We understand there is no limit to the amount of profit proposed. Is this correct?

Response to Question 58: This is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), Labor-Hour contract at the fixed hourly rates identified in Section B.. The fixed hourly rates for each labor category include all direct labor costs, indirect costs, overhead, general and administrative (G&A) expenses, and profit.

Current helpdesk supporting levels: How many help desk supporting levels do current systems have? Who is responsible for each level?

Response to Question 59: 1 level, the PM.

E-GRANTS System usage: How many users and concurrent users does the E-Grants system currently have?

Response to Question 60: Approximately 5000 users.

E-GRANTS System bugs: How many open issues does E-Grants System has now?

Response to Question 61: 30 issues.

E-GRANTS Technology for Dollar$ and electronic procurement system: What is the technology for DOL’s legacy system and electronic procurement system?

Response to Question 62: ColdFusin, Oracle, Bizflow , We do not manage the E-procurement system under this solicitation.

E-GRANTS Technology for Dollar$ and electronic procurement system: What will DOL plan to use to replace the electronic procurement system, iProcurement module only of Oracle Federal Financial or PRISM?

Response to Question 63: PROTECH does not manage the E-procurement system under this requirement.

Does E-Grants integrate with HHS PMS system?

Response to Question 64: E-Grants does not integrate directly with PMS, but only through the DOL accounting system.

E-GRANTS Integration technology: Can the government provide the integration architecture for E- GRANTS and all the systems to provide Offerors’ better understanding and ensure fair competition?

Response to Question 65: No.

PROTECH requires the offeror to develop new modules as needed following ETA’s System Development Lifecycle Methodologies (SDLCM): Is this SDLCM similar to any industry standard SDLCs?

Response to Question 66: Yes.

Improve customer services and linkages to state/federal e-grant partners: Can you clarify what you mean by linkages? Are these new interfaces that need to be developed? Or Hyperlinks to report? Or push/pull interfaces?

Response to Question 67: Hyperlinks to other web interfaces.

System Performance: Are you experiencing slow system performance / UI response? Having issues with Up-time? Please explain?

Response to Question 68: No.

SOW Improve customer service and linkages to State/Federal E-Grants partners: Could DOL share the E Grants’ customer feedback and improve/feature requests?

Response to Question 69: No.

Improve E-Grants system performance: What are top performance improving areas DOL is looking for? Page response time? Real-time look up? Volume of current users?

Response to Question 70: We are looking for a vendor who can support t application maintenance and development with reliable, well trained and experienced staff. This would be a huge performance improvement.

System release schedule: Can the government share with planned release schedule and/or release frequencies?

Response to Question 71: No.

System release schedule: Can the government share with planned release schedule for new releases, upgrades etc?

Response to Question 72: No.

Change Control Board Meeting: Will the contractor be required to participate in CCB meetings?

Response to Question 73: They maybe required to participate.

SOP: Does DOL has published, approved, SOP for maintenance and support on all the systems listed in the SOW?

Response to Question 74: No.

E-Grants technology : What technology is the E-Grants UI currently developed in? Bizflow Web Forms? Cold Fusion? Oracle Portlets?

Response to Question 75: Yes.

BPM Technology: What BPM tool is being used?

Response to Question 76: Paper and a template.

BPM Technology: Is there a rule engine being used? If yes, can the Government provide us the name of the rule engine? Does the Government currently have users create business rules using GUI directly or the contractor is required to translate the rules into the BPM system or E-Grants system?

Response to Question 77: No.

PROTECH requires the offeror to provide services for SSO: What system provides the authorization for the SSO service?

Response to Question 78: Not applicable.

Software: Is Oracle OID being utilized to provide SSO capability?

Response to Question 79: Not applicable.

Web Services / SOAP-Based Web Services: PROTECH requires the offeror to leverage Microsoft Web service and distributed systems technologies to build distributed service-oriented systems: Will this be SOAP only, or will RPC or REST also be needed?

Response to Question 80: Not applicable.

The release of the E-Grants 2.0: What is the due date of this release?

Response to Question 81: Not applicable.

New Integration Point: The replacement of DOLAR$ with Oracle Financials. Question: Has this replacement been successful or is it still forthcoming?

Response to Question 82: This replacement is forthcoming.

New Integration Point: Real-time or Batch: Is the new integration point foreseen as a real-time interface?

Response to Question 83: Real-Time.

New Oracle 10g Platform: Move to Bizflow 11.0: Will the offeror inherit testing tasks for this move?

Response to Question 84:

New Oracle 10g Platform: Move to Bizflow 11.0: What is the due date of this release?

Response to Question 85: Yes, there is no due date of this release.

VETS Pilot: Proof of concept of the VETS: What is the due date and duration of this pilot?

Response to Question 86: Three months.

Proof of concept of the VETS: What SDLCM tasks would the Offeror inherit?

Response to Question 87: All.

E-Grant maintenance schedule: What is the regular e Grant maintenance schedule? On average, how many change requests or enhancements will be included in a release?

Response to Question 88: As many as needed.

EBSS Performance Reporting: Support for both the external and internal components of the Performance Reporting Systems: How many data sets would the offeror need to support near term (0-6 months). What is the expected annual volume?

Response to Question 89: Five initially – volumes are low initially.

Helpdesk: Is this just the Level 1 helpdesk support? Can the Government provide us the volume to tickets that make it all the way to Level 3?

Response to Question 90: Ten average daily.

Place of performance and Price and Cost Schedule: Pricing quote for offsite rate: The SOW states that work might be performed offsite at Contractor’s facilities in metro DC area. However, there is no pricing table to provide offsite rates. Can the Government clarify whether both onsite and offsite rates are required or a blended rates are required?

Response to Question 91: Both onsite and offsite rates are required.

Place of performance and Price and Cost Schedule: costs for software and development environment etc: If work is performed offsite at Contractor’s facility and the Contractor is required to set up mirror development environment as what DOL has, will the Government cover the cost, or shall the Contractor propose the costs to be included in the price/Cost schedule? Since there are incumbents on the contract already, can the government separate the set up and hardware/software costs from the total costs to ensure fair competition?

Response to Question 92: This is a Labor-Hour ID/IQ contract. As such, the selected Offeror will be responsible for providing only the labor required for Task Order performance. Any hardware/software, etc. necessary for Task Order performance will be provided by the Government.

Business Solutions Management: Current Tasks: How many and what kind of Business Solutions Management tasks will the offeror inherit? How many of these tasks are due in the near term (0-6 months)?

Response to Question 93: What do you mean by Business Management Solutions?

Business Requirements Analysis & System Design: Current Tasks: How many and what kind of Business Requirements Analysis & System Design tasks will the offeror inherit? How many of these tasks are due in the near term (0-6 months)?

Response to Question 94: This is detailed in the RFP.

Application Development and Programming: Current Tasks: How many and what kind of Application Development and Programming tasks will the offeror inherit? How many of these tasks are due in the near term (0-6 months)?

Response to Question 95: This is detailed in the RFP.

System Integration: Current Tasks: How many and what kind of System Integration and Programming tasks will the offeror inherit? How many of these tasks are due in the near term (0-6 months)?

Response to Question 96: This is detailed in the RFP.

Documentation, Helpdesk, and End User Support: Current Tasks: How many and what kind of Documentation, Helpdesk, and End User Support and Programming tasks will the offeror inherit? How many of these tasks are due in the near term (0-6 months)?

Response to Question 97: This is detailed in the RFP.

Will the contractor’s key personnel be interviewed and approved by the Government prior to be on board?

Response to Question 98: Contractor’s key personnel will not be interviewed by the government but their resume may be reviewed and approved by the contracting officer prior to working on the contract.

Section L ii. Volume I-Technical: Paragraph/Clause: Subfactor 2 Personnel: Personnel qualifications and resumes? “The offeror shall submit a proposal which reflects the experience and qualifications of all contractor personnel”. “The offeror’s proposal shall include resumes for key personnel”. Can the Government clarify that DOL requires the offeror to just key personnel resumes?

Response to Question 99: The government requires the offeror to submit resumes for key personnel.

Section: L iii. Volume III. Price: Instruction: Labor categories and labor rates: Can the Government confirm that only fully loaded labor rates are required in the quote without the cost build up worksheets?

Response to Question 100: Only fully loaded labor rates are required. The fixed hourly rates for each labor category include all direct labor costs, indirect costs, overhead, general and administrative (G&A) expenses, and profit.

Section: M Factor II Past Performance and L Volume II Past Performance: “The Government will evaluate the Past Performance Elements specified in the Past Performance Questionnaire, Attachment E: Does this mean, contractor is required to put all the Past Performance Questionnaires or just the Past Performance information into the Proposal Volume II Past Performance?

Response to Question 101: PPQ are to be submitted by 4/14/2010 at 12:00PM EST. Refer to Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), d. (ii) Past Performance, regarding Volume II – Past Performance.

Section: M Factor III Price: Price factor: Price “completeness”: “Price will be evaluated in terms of completeness, balanced pricing and reasonableness.” Can the Government provide specifics or details regarding “completeness”?

Response to Question 102: This is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), Labor-Hour contract at the fixed hourly rates identified in Section B. The fixed hourly rates for each labor category include all direct labor costs, indirect costs, overhead, general and administrative (G&A) expenses, and profit.

VETS Pilot: What system will VETS migrate to?

Response to Question 103: Oracle Coldfusion.

E-Grants technology: Can you provide us a listing of all the products and tools utilized in the e-Grants Solution including technology stack?

Response to Question 104: Refer to the RFP.

H.2.1.1 Personnel Qualification: The SOW requires contractor to design, redesign integration points, interfaces etc. RFP also calls for requirements analysis, gathering, etc. however, there is not a labor category for Business Analyst. Requirements engineering is critical to IT project’s success. The current labor categories for System Analyst don’t have require experience with requirement analysis. Will the Government consider changing or adding a BA labor category?

Response to Question 105: The System Analyst must have experience in requirements analysis.

Response to Question 106a: Email or voice.

Is there any requirement for a live answer on the Help Desk line or is voice mail with a prompt return call acceptable?

Response to Question 106b: Yes.

Will the Government provide the Help Desk ticketing/incident management software?

Response to Question 106c: Yes, to the service desk.

Is the end-user training and rollout support component a new requirement or is it currently being performed?

Response to Question 106d: It is currently performed.

Is there an existing system and training documentation in place or is there a need to create all new materials?

Response to Question 107: Both.

What software will eGrants V2 be written in?

Response to Question 108: ColdFusion Bizflow Oracle.

We cannot locate Attachment 6. Is it named something else in Final RFP? This is referenced in J.7.K in document.

Response to Question 109: There is no attachment 6 or J.7.K, please provide a page number.

Is there a reason the Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) are due earlier than the proposal? Could you please extend the PPQ to the proposal deadline?

Response to Question 110: The PPQ submission deadline will not be extended at this time.

Section F.2.4 states that this effort might require a mirror set up offsite. If this is required how much time will be allocated to set up an offsite facility?

Response to Question 111: The time allocated to set-up an offsite facility would be negotiated and issued under the resultant Task Order.

Will the government provide the necessary software and equipment required for this offsite facility?

Response to Question 112: Yes.

Section 1.3.1.6.9 States that the TW must have automated tools such as Robo Help. Will government provide the tool? Or can the contractor use a similar tool of choice?

Response to Question 113: Yes, the contractor can use a similar tool.

Will PROTECH be leading this project?

Response to Question 114: No response required.

Will PROTECH be part of the awards selection process?

Response to Question 115: The contracting officer makes the final award decision.

What is the estimated contract award date?

Response to Question 116: All offerors will be notified of the status at the appropriate time.

Will there be a transition phase for this effort? If so, how long will the transition period be?

Response to Question 117: Refer to Section L.4.1 and 4.2.

RFP states that this will be an IDIQ contract. Will the contractor be getting resource requests in phases?

Response to Question 118: The Government will place orders for individual requirements through the issuance of Task Orders. Each Task Order will be negotiated and priced based upon the rates for services contained in Section B.

Will the winning contractor be encouraged to assume the incumbent personnel?

Response to Question 119: No, the government does not encourage contract vendors to assume personnel.

Reference Section C.1.3, Objectives: The first objective is to “Improve customer service and linkages to State/Federal E-Grants partners”. It is unclear whether “linkages” refer to application interfaces and/or communications connections. Will the Government please define “linkages”?

Response to Question 120: Application Hyperlinks.

Reference Section C.1.3.1: The last sentence of the first paragraph states that “The systems run on a Microsoft Windows operating system…” However, the Table in Section F.2.4.1 includes the Sun Solaris platform. Will the Government please identify the applications that run on the Sun Solaris platform?

Response to Question 121: Oracle DBMS.

Reference Section C.1.3.1.6.1, VETS Pilot: This section states that “E-Grants has been requested to conduct a pilot in FY 2010 to migrate all Veterans Employment Training Service (VETS) performance reporting from the present VOPAR system.” Will the Government please identify software application(s), hardware platform and operating system platform for the VOPAR system?

Response to Question 122: ColdFusion, Oracle.

Reference Section H.2, Personnel Qualifications: This section states that “ALL contractors will be US citizens.” We believe that this requirement is unnecessary for ALL persons, and that this requirement may unduly increase costs. Section H.3 FAR 4.404(d), Security Requirements, paragraph 1.1, Security Requirements states that “The contractor shall ensure all direct labor personnel provided under this contract are capable of meeting the criteria for a background investigation and have the ability to obtain a Government issued identification badge.” We believe that this requirement is sufficient and will result in lower costs to the Government. Will the Government please remove the requirement that ALL contractors will be US citizens, and use the requirement that the contractor shall ensure all direct labor personnel provided under this contract are capable of meeting the criteria for a background investigation and have the ability to obtain a Government issued identification badge?

Response to Question 123: The government’s requirement remains unchanged.

Reference Section J.2 Attachment B: Government Furnished Property, Equipment and Services: This section states that “Any agreed materials or equipment required in support of this task shall be furnished to the vendor by DOL.” This open-ended statement may be a source of confusion given the broad scope of this contract. Will the Government please clarify the types of Government Furnished Equipment it will provide?

Response to Question 124: The government will provide all materials and/or equipment needed to fulfill tasks onsite.

Reference Section L, Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offeror (PreAward), Paragraph (d) Offer expiration date. This section states that “Proposals in response to this solicitation will be valid for the number of days specified on the solicitation cover sheet (unless a different period is proposed by the offeror).” Will the Government please confirm that the validity period is sixty (60) days?

Response to Question 125: Does the RFP state the number of days specified on the solicitation cover sheet?

Reference Section L, Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), Paragraph c. Page Count This section states that Volume I – Technical is “Not To Exceed (NTE) 50 pages, excluding resumes, covers, title pages, executive summaries, table of contents and supporting documentation.” It is unclear whether the required Quality Control Plan (QCP) is considered “supporting documentation”. Is the required Quality Control Plan (QCP) “supporting documentation?

Response to Question 126: No, it is Subfactor 5 of Volume I-Technical. Refer to Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), d, (i) Volume I – Technical, Subfactor 5: Quality Control Plan.

Section H.2 states that all contractors will be US citizens. Does this need to be verified on the resumes? I assume this means no green card holders.

Response to Question 127: Yes, all contractors must be U.S. citizens.

How will cost be evaluated? Will you be taking the cumulative cost of the 23 labor categories over the years, or will you evaluate each labor category independently?

Response to Question 128: Refer to Section M – Evaluation Factors for Award, Factor III - Price.

On the past performance questionnaire, Section B “IDENTIFICATION OF OFFEROR’S REPRESENTATIVE” Whose information is supposed to be in that block? 1) Our company POC information or 2) the contact information of the person offering the evaluation? I am sorry it is not clear to me.

Response to Question 129: The contact information of the person completing the evaluation.

If we are to propose a subcontractor who plans on doing more than 10% of the work, do they need to distribute the questionnaire to clients for 3 past performance or is this part only required with the proposal submission from the sub, instead of the questionnaire?

Response to Question 130: Refer to Addendum to 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004), d, (ii) Volume II – Past Performance.

III. The following section has been amended as follows:

SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Basis for Award: The non-price evaluation factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. Technical is slightly more important than Past Performance and, Past Performance is slightly more important than Price. However, price will become significantly more important as non-price factors approach equality. The Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to achieve slightly superior technical features.